About Me

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Today is my birthday, and only you can make my birthday wish come true.

My birthday wish is for Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2 to be confirmed for 2012, and for a Roger Rabbit attraction to come to Disney’s Hollywood Studios along with it.

First, let’s talk about the movie.I had heard reports that it was a definite “go” and that it’s in production.Then I heard that its status would depend on how well Tron: Legacy performed.Then I heard that if we did get WFRR2, it would be filmed in motion capture.

Let’s review.I’m a Disney dork and a sci-fi geek, and even I wondered about the wisdom of releasing a new Tron movie.So to pin the future of a sequel to the wildly popular Who Framed Roger Rabbit on the success (or lack thereof) of a sequel to a relatively obscure film like Tron makes no sense to me at all.But I must give you the benefit of the doubt here.Hopefully there is no truth to that rumor.

Giving credit where it’s due, however, at least Tron: Legacy was pretty to watch.I’d go so far as to say visually stunning (generally lacking in a compelling story line, but visually stunning).But movies made in motion capture, like Robert Zemeckis’ The Polar Expressor A Christmas Carol just plain creep me out. I’m not at all fond of this method of animation, and I laughed out loud when in the ending credits of Pixar'sRatatouille, a stamp appeared labeling the film as "100% Pure Animation -- No Motion Capture!"

Now, on to DHS.It broke my heart when I learned that a Roger Rabbit attraction and/or area had originally been planned for the Studios and then scrapped.This was especially true when I finally made it out to Disneyland and saw how cool their Toontown was compared to Florida’s.I know parents of toddlers everywhere are going to hate me for this one, but I found the Magic Kingdom’sToontown about as appealing as Animal Kingdom’s Dinoland, USA.Toontown had Barnstormer, Dinoland has Dinosaur, and neither has much of anything else worth seeing, in my humble opinion.I know a few people might disagree, but Disney can do better, and they should.

But back to my point.A release of a Roger Rabbit sequel (a real one, not that direct-to-video crap you’ve been cranking out repeatedly over the last sixteen years) would be the perfect opportunity for a Roger Rabbit attraction, or even a whole Toontown-themed area to come to the Studios.A goodToontown though, not a Mickey’s Birthdayland, Mickey’s Starland, Duckburg, Towntown Fair area that looks like it was designed as a backyard playhouse for a three-year-old girl.

Yes, I know I’m being demanding, but it’s my birthday.And after all Disney, you’re the ones who taught me that: